Fiki Baki Meerschaum Purchase

[filippuneddu]

Has anybody recently purchased a Fikri Baki meerschaum pipe from Ali Express? Is Ali Express reputable, or is it possible they are calling pipes made by other carvers Baki’s.

is there any other way to buy a new Baki pipe? I notice that they are no longer sold by a Florida merchant, and Ali Express is in China.

thanks!

 

[isaac]

So they are the only ones. I bought two withouut issue. Another member bought a pipe, and it appears it was a return and resell. So not sure.

 

[filippuneddu]

So they are the only ones. I bought two withouut issue. Another member bought a pipe, and it appears it was a return and resell. So not sure.

Thanks. Think I’ll pass on the purchase.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

I ordered a pipe about a week and a half ago, only to come across a post from 2 years ago from someone who ordered the exact same pipe. Same pictures, same item number, everything. Mine hasn't shipped yet, and even if it does it can't be the exact pipe I ordered, but the time to ship before I'm automatically refunded is running out. I've tried multiple times to contact anyone through the AliExpress app, through the website, and even with some email addresses another user passed along to me, all with no result. Even if they do get a pipe shipped to me, the best case scenario is they're fraudulently reusing pictures despite their listings explicitly stating that all images are the exact item you're purchasing.

I'm pretty disappointed that this is the only means of browsing and ordering Baki pipes because at this point I have no confidence in the seller and no desire to give them my business again. As far as I can tell I've just given them an interest free $375 loan which could take up to 20 days to be refunded to me.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I ordered a pipe about a week and a half ago, only to come across a post from 2 years ago from someone who ordered the exact same pipe. Same pictures, same item number, everything. Mine hasn't shipped yet, and even if it does it can't be the exact pipe I ordered, but the time to ship before I'm automatically refunded is running out. I've tried multiple times to contact anyone through the AliExpress app, through the website, and even with some email addresses another user passed along to me, all with no result. Even if they do get a pipe shipped to me, the best case scenario is they're fraudulently reusing pictures despite their listings explicitly stating that all images are the exact item you're purchasing.

I'm pretty disappointed that this is the only means of browsing and ordering Baki pipes because at this point I have no confidence in the seller and no desire to give them my business again. As far as I can tell I've just given them an interest free $375 loan which could take up to 20 days to be refunded to me.

I had a Baki and the draw was severely restricted. Check out Meerschaum Market.

 

[cigrmaster]

I ordered a pipe about a week and a half ago, only to come across a post from 2 years ago from someone who ordered the exact same pipe. Same pictures, same item number, everything. Mine hasn't shipped yet, and even if it does it can't be the exact pipe I ordered, but the time to ship before I'm automatically refunded is running out. I've tried multiple times to contact anyone through the AliExpress app, through the website, and even with some email addresses another user passed along to me, all with no result. Even if they do get a pipe shipped to me, the best case scenario is they're fraudulently reusing pictures despite their listings explicitly stating that all images are the exact item you're purchasing.

I'm pretty disappointed that this is the only means of browsing and ordering Baki pipes because at this point I have no confidence in the seller and no desire to give them my business again. As far as I can tell I've just given them an interest free $375 loan which could take up to 20 days to be refunded to me.

I would be thankful your credit card company has your back. Aggravation is one thing, losing 375.00 to a company like that would sting a lot more. I am glad to hear your money is on the way back to you and with rates being what they are you didn't take a hard it, definitely a pain in the ass though.

I am pretty much a Meer novice, so I went with a dealer on Ebay who accepted offers on their IMP pipes. They wanted 295 for the one I wanted and after haggling as much as I could I paid 245.00. I think I have smoked it 4 times now. I keep telling myself to just smoke it a bunch then decide whether to keep it. One day I will listen to myself. Today was not one of those.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

One day I will listen to myself. Today was not one of those.

I think this same thing often and wonder where I'd be if a few small changes were made. Life could be worse, but a few small tweaks and it could've been better. While I can't change the past, the "what if" nags me and I hate nags.

My biggest faults seem to be self confidence and doubting myself. It's so much easier from the outside looking in.

Another day, a lesson learned. Another scar, another burn. But I get up to face each day. Another chance, another way.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

I had a Baki and the draw was severely restricted. Check out Meerschaum Market.

I'm surprised to hear that as most of the feedback I've seen about Baki is that they're the Cadillac of meerschaum. Thanks for offering a dissenting opinion. Prior to this I checked out SRV on Meerschaum Market and it seemed like a great value. I'm also a fan of Altinay's involvement across several forums, and from what I hear the customer service is great. Not sure where I'll go after this, but at this point it doesn't seem like I even can order a Baki if I want to.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Problem with Aliexpress is that it's just a platform (kinda like Amazon) - it all comes down to the actually Seller who's selling you the item.

Can be a dice roll sometimes, but I've only had positive experiences. Pays to pay attention and carefully/properly vet where you're buying from.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

Problem with Aliexpress is that it's just a platform (kinda like Amazon) - it all comes down to the actually Seller who's selling you the item.

Can be a dice roll sometimes, but I've only had positive experiences. Pays to pay attention and carefully/properly vet where you're buying from.

I ought to have specified, but I believe the only authorized distributor of Baki pipes currently is TuWun Meerschaum Pipe Store, a seller on AliExpress. They're the ones ghosting me after taking my money. From what I can tell AliExpress has decent customer protections so I'm not worried, but definitely a crap experience so far with this vendor.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

I ought to have specified, but I believe the only authorized distributor of Baki pipes currently is TuWun Meerschaum Pipe Store, a seller on AliExpress. They're the ones ghosting me after taking my money. From what I can tell AliExpress has decent customer protections so I'm not worried, but definitely a crap experience so far with this vendor.

When did this transaction happen? If it was recently, I wonder if it has anything to do with the stringent lockdowns in China. But that is annoying for you.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

When did this transaction happen? If it was recently, I wonder if it has anything to do with the stringent lockdowns in China. But that is annoying for you.

The order was about a week and a half ago. I wondered the same thing as you, but in the messaging feature of the app it shows the seller as being active just about every day. At this point I don't know what to think and there could still be plenty of reasonable explanations for the lack of response/shipping, but it's definitely frustrating on my end.